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I'm not trying to be picky about this: just the opposite. I want people to use this stuff as they see fit and it would be bad if some dumbass law about copyright prevented them from doing so.

I don't think I'll do any more 10 gallon batches. While this seems more efficient, it's really a pain in the ass. Half my system is sized for 10 gallons, but half is sized for 5, and the attendant frustration as my wort takes an hour to chill, the sparge takes an hour and a half, and the wort won't reach a good roiling boil is too much. I'm going to go back to smalller batches and pay more attention to craft and less attention to volume.

Today's brew went well. I'm still struggling with effiiciency, which I'm now supposing I should blame on insects that have been chewing my grain. Seriously. Oh wait, it didn't actually go well because whole hops jam my whole system to hell. I nearly kicked my kettle over when it wouldn't drain. Hop bags.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to this IPA. I cut back the bittering hops to .8 oz. of magnum. I did the water Burton like, which with my local water just requires a bunch of gypsum (1.0g/L). No other pH control (another potential source of failed efficiency.) We'll see if the Burtonized water gives the good hop bitterness that it is supposed to.

I also skipped the aroma hops: just 60 minute and FWH additons. Also, the mash went like 147 for 30 and 158 for 30, no mash out.

I think for my next beer, I'm going to do a nice autumn brown ale.

Saturday I'm going to make 10 gallons of beer. The simple plan is to make an IPA and a Pale Ale. I'll make 9 gallons of wort for IPA and dilute a portion for Pale Ale.

Recipe:

21 pounds of Maris Otter malt

1.25 60L bristish crystal

1 oz. Simcoe, FWH

1 oz. Cascade (whole leaf), FWH

1 oz. Magnum, 75 minutes

1 oz. Cascade (whole leaf), 30 seconds

The mash will be 1.25 qts/pound at 149 for 60 and then mashed out to 167.

I'm going to use a blend of safale 04 and 05, their american and british, from a starter, which I'm going to make shortly.

IPA: 1.067, 77% AA, 59 IBU, SRM 9.7

Pale Ale: 1.047, 77% AA, 42 IBU, SRM 6.8

For such well attenuated beer, I worry that that will be too bitter. But I don't think so because bitterness from FWH is soooo nice. 

Now I need to seriously hit my brewery with wild yeast killer.